Authors: Bianca D' Arc
Dead Alert (13 page)
“While I appreciate the sentiment, I can take care of myself, you know.”
“Yeah, arousing suspicion to the point they tried to kill you was really a smart move.” Henry’s sarcasm was not helping her hold on to her temper.
“How was I supposed to know? I still don’t really know what we’re dealing with here,” she turned an impatient glare on Sam, but he seemed as immovable as stone, standing there, watching the siblings hash it out. “But I agree with Henry. I’m safer with you than on my own, Sam. And I can help your investigation without drawing undue attention. I always get to pick and choose my flights because I’m one of the owners. None of the other pilots have that luxury. You’re better off working with me than trying to keep me out of it.”
Sam looked resigned and a bit angry, but he finally relented. “All right. But you have to promise to follow my lead, Emily. I’m the only one who can handle it if we encounter anything . . . dangerous.” She didn’t understand the slight hesitation in his words, but let it pass. He was relenting, seeing reason. She wasn’t about to question it now. No, that would come later.
“I promise I’ll behave.”
She made a joke out of it, but this was a breakthrough moment for her. She wasn’t going to be sidelined. She’d have a chance to help stop whatever was going on at Praxis and maybe save the airline. It was important to her. The airline had been important to her mother and it was the last piece she had left of that life. She didn’t want to see it go down in flames. Her mother wouldn’t have liked that at all.
“I want your word of honor that you’ll look after Emily, lieutenant.” Henry sounded as serious as she’d ever heard him. It was touching, actually.
“You have my word,” Sam answered solemnly. “I’ll protect her to the best of my ability and put her life before my own.”
Whoa. That was some heavy stuff he’d just said and Sam looked like he meant every single word. Things had gotten very serious, very fast in her small kitchen.
“My leave is officially over,” Henry grimaced. “I’m to fly out and meet my new commander. It’s all very irregular, but they told me to hop in my jet and fly it directly to Fort Bragg. Emily, I’ll check in with you when I can, though I won’t be able to talk to you about any of this over the phone, I expect.” He took her hand and led her a few feet away from Sam. He was going to say goodbye. She hated this part. She hated being separated from her twin, but it had become necessary as they grew older. They each had their own lives to lead.
“You take care, Shotgun,” she whispered, hugging him and kissing his stubbly cheek.
“Same goes, kiddo.” He kissed her cheek and squeezed her tight. “I don’t know Sam well, but I know his type. His word means something. He’ll take care of you but you have to do your part.” He was whispering near her ear so Sam couldn’t hear. “Don’t make his job hard, squirt. Follow his lead and keep your head down. I’d die if I lost you.”
Tears gathered behind her eyes at his heartfelt words. “Same goes on your end. You be careful too.”
“I will if you will.” He drew away to give her one of those patented Henry smiles. He could charm almost anyone into anything with one of those smiles.
“Agreed.” They shook on it as they had when they were little kids, both grinning at the familiar routine that had begun any number of misadventures when they were small.
They broke apart and Henry turned to Sam. “I’m trusting you.” He held out his hand and Sam reached to take it, giving it a solid shake.
“I won’t let you down, sir. Give Matt Sykes my regards. He’ll give you my number.” Sam patted his cell phone. “The lines they issue us are scrambled secure satellite. When you’re on the team, we’ll be able to talk if I’m in a safe location. I’ve already asked the commander to issue one for Emily so you can talk to her more freely. She’ll have to be careful where she uses it though. I’ll show her how to choose and secure her locations sufficiently.”
“I’d be grateful to you,” Henry replied. “Being a twin is a funny thing.” It was hard to have to describe the connection to someone who hadn’t experienced it. Emily had tried before and knew what Henry was getting at. “I’ve felt something was wrong here for a while now but I hoped Em would come to me before anything big hit the fan.” He turned to look at her, his gaze going between her and Sam, including them both in his words. “That’s why I finally finagled leave to come see her. I’m glad now that I did and regret I didn’t do it sooner.”
“I only got here a few days ago,” Sam said quietly. “The timing on your leave was perfect as far as I’m concerned. Until I heard you two talking, I had to keep Emily on the suspect list. Now, thanks to those few moments, the good guys have gained two new allies.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Things have a way of working out.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it,” Emily said. “But I’m still mad that you bugged my house. How could you, Sam? Honestly.” She exaggerated her words in order to break the solemn mood and it worked.
“Just doing my job, ma’am.” Sam tipped his nonexistent hat at her and grinned.
Henry looked at his watch and grimaced. “I’ve got to go. I’m going to take the family plane back to the civilian airport near the base, drop it off at the Praxis hangar, then hop a cab to base so I can get my jet. Can I take your car? I’ll leave it at the airport. I’m sure Sam would be happy to drive you over to pick it up.”
Sam nodded agreement as she got her keys from her purse and gave them to Henry.
“Walk me out, sis.” Henry put his arm around her shoulders as they walked to her front door. Sam stayed behind, giving them a moment of privacy. “Call me as soon as you get the secure phone. Be careful where you call from. Sam will help you figure out what’s safe and what’s not. Listen to him. Learn from him. He’s been doing this covert stuff longer than you—or me, for that matter. Follow his lead.”
“Roger wilco.” She tried to joke with him but sometimes there was no getting around Henry’s serious side.
At the front door he hugged her one last time and kissed her cheek. Then he was gone. Out the door, in her car and down the driveway to the street beyond. She watched until her car turned and went out of sight.
“Your brother seems like a straight shooter.”
Sam had come in from the kitchen soundlessly. Emily jumped when he spoke from right beside her.
“You scared the life out of me. Make a sound once in a while, would you?” She shook her head as she caught her breath. Sam only laughed at her.
“Sorry. It’s my job to be stealthy. It’s become a way of life.”
“It’s not normal, Sam. Human beings make noise when they walk into a room. The brush of a shoe on carpet. The sound of rustling fabric as they move.” She was frustrated and frightened by the recent turn of events and it came out in her conversation. She didn’t mean to take it out on him but he was a handy target. Luckily, he seemed to understand. His eyes were kind when she met his gaze.
“Your brother will be okay, Emily. They won’t let him in on the truly dangerous stuff my team is involved in. I know that for a fact. He doesn’t have the right . . . training.” There was that awkward hesitation again when he went searching for words. There was something strange going on for certain. She just hoped they could put a stop to it so she and her brother could get on with their lives.
“This is truly dangerous, isn’t it? I mean, more than your garden variety criminals are involved.”
He nodded, holding her gaze. “There’s a great deal I can’t tell you but believe me on this—Henry won’t be in much more danger than he would be on his regular job. He’ll be used for his flying skills. That will be the extent of his contribution to the team. That, and you. You and Praxis Air are the links that brought him into the fold. If the airline hadn’t been involved, you and he wouldn’t have come to anyone’s attention. As it is, you are involved and we all have to make the best of the situation that we can.”
“I can understand that.”
“What’s the family plane Henry mentioned? Do they keep one specific jet set aside for you at Praxis?”
“It’s a relic of the old days. The first plane our mother flew for Praxis when they were setting up the airline. An old cargo job. A mid-sized Cessna. Buddy keeps it in good condition and we take it out every now and again for fun. Lately she’s been put back into service a time or two when we had last minute cargo charters, but she sits idle for the most part.”
She wished suddenly for the old days, when her mother was still alive and Scott was in school and nowhere near the management of the airline. Scott’s dad would never have gotten involved in anything so illegal and underhanded. He’d been a trustworthy man. Otherwise, her mother would never have gone into business with him and their other partners.
Emily yearned for those carefree times, almost wishing she had never noticed anything wrong. For a mad moment she wished she could go back to the way things had been before Scott had started systematically changing the airline. Back when things were normal and reasonably happy. Secure.
She shook her head, closing the door and locking it. When she turned around, she pinned Sam with her gaze. They had work to do.
“The first thing I want you to know is that I don’t like having my privacy invaded. I’ll forgive you this time but if you ever bug my home again, there will be hell to pay.” She knew as she spoke the words he would smile and she was glad when he did. “Now, the first thing I want you to
do
, is remove those listening devices. I suppose you hid them all over the place.”
do
, is remove those listening devices. I suppose you hid them all over the place.”
“Yeah.” He had the grace to look sheepish. “I’ll take them out.” He leaned over to the big potted plant by the door and lifted a black pebble from the dirt.
“Show me where they are. I want to at least learn something from this if I have to go through the indignity of having my home bugged. Show me how to spot them.”
To his credit, Sam went through her home and showed her not only where he’d hidden the bugs, but other locations where they could be hidden without being seen. Some of them were pretty ingenious, like under the rim of her porcelain umbrella stand. She never would have thought of that in a million years.
He led her around the living room and kitchen then proceeded down the hall as if he were very familiar with the layout of her home. Which, in fact, he was. He’d snuck in here to plant the listening devices, after all, which still freaked her out if she let herself think about it. If Sam could do it with such ease, so could other people with his skills. Bottom line—her home wasn’t the safe place she’d thought it was.
Her thoughts were troubled as he led the way to another doorway. She stopped short when she saw where he was headed.
“In the bathroom?” She was outraged. Was nothing sacred?
“Just doing my job, Emily. They trained me to be thorough.”
“A little too thorough if you ask me.” It didn’t bear thinking about what kinds of sounds he could have been privy to.
“Exactly how long ago did you break in and place the devices?”
Sam grinned at her over his shoulder as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. She felt her face heat with a blush.
“The day before I started working at Praxis Air.”
God. That was longer than she’d have thought. It also meant something else.
“So I’ve been a suspect from the very beginning?”
“Everyone who works at Praxis is a suspect,” Sam replied. “Right now, you’re the only one I’ve been able to clear. Everyone else might still be on the take, so be careful who you talk to and what you say to them.”
“Even Buddy?”
“Especially Buddy,” he came back, stronger than she would have expected. “I don’t like that he didn’t insist on reporting the tampering on your car. That he let it go could mean he’s in on it.”
“Or it could mean he respects my judgment,” she countered.
Sam’s mouth thinned to an annoyed line but he didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he reached for the listening device hidden above her medicine cabinet.
“Don’t worry. The fact that you sing in the shower is safe with me.”
“I do not sing in the shower.” She was appalled to think he’d heard her.
“Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t really call it singing.”
She punched him in the arm. “I’ll get you for that someday, Archer. Payback’s a bitch.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” He turned to face her, pocketing the bug as he’d done with all the others. “And I’ll dream about sharing this shower with you sometime.” He advanced into her personal space until she could feel the warmth of his body though he didn’t quite touch her. “I bet I could give you a real reason to sing.”
His voice had dropped to that sexy tone that made her melt. His head lowered so his words sounded right next to her ear, his hot breath drifting over her skin, raising goose bumps of awareness all over her body.
“Are you making a pass at me?” Her voice was breathy and weak. Weak like her knees became as Sam’s head dropped lower and his lips brushed over the sensitive skin of her neck.
“If you have to ask, I must not be doing it right.” He closed the small gap between their bodies, his hands going around her waist as he drew her against his hard frame. “Damn. I’ve been wanting to do this for hours.” His lips covered hers, his tongue running along the seam of her mouth, unzipping her lips and delving inside. She gave in with a whimper of need.
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